22
Fiona
Gabriellaand I had just finished putting together a shopping list for my parents’ arrival when I heard a knock on the door. “Who could that be?”
“Perhaps your friends?” Gabriella said. “They might be out of wine.”
I chuckled as I hurried to the door. Gabriella was right. My friends did seem to often show up right about cocktail hour.
To my surprise, it was not my colorful friends but Mama and Papa. I teared up at the sight of them, despite my surprise. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”
“We had to change a few things around,” Mama said. “Long story.”
We embraced, and then I ushered them inside. “Li and the boys are out shopping for boots,” I said. “But they should be home shortly.”
I spoke as if it were completely ordinary that I now had two little boys and my best friend from home living with me.
“We look forward to meeting them,” Mama said. “And it’s good they’re out. We can talk for a few minutes first.”
After saying hello, Gabriella left us for the kitchen where she would put tea together for us. “Where is your luggage?” I asked. They’d come without anything, other than Mama’s purse.
“We’re staying at an inn down the street,” Papa said, in a serious tone. “Figuring you had a full house.”
“Yes, about that,” I said.
“Sit, both of you,” Papa said. “We’d like to hear more details of how this all came to be.”
“Spare no details,” Mama said as she settled beside my father on the sofa.
For the next thirty minutes, I described everything as best I could, including the choices left to us by the French government. “As far as we can tell, it will take someone like you to sort this all out,” I said to Papa. “I’m sorry. I know it must all seem rash to you.”
“We’ll talk about that in a minute,” Papa said. “We want to understand exactly what Li is doing here.”
Gabriella brought our tea, leaving the tray on the coffee table before excusing herself. I wished I could do the same.
“He came out of a sense of duty,” I said. “You see, I wrote to him about Mr. Basset.” I explained all of that as delicately as I could. Papa’s face had turned red and Mama’s white by the time I finished. “But it’s nothing to worry over now. With Li and James here, the poor man’s been frightened into good behavior.”
Mama picked up her cup of tea and sipped without taking her eyes off me. “And how it is going with Mr. West? You’ve become quite friendly, I take it?”
“Yes, but not that way. We’re only friends. In fact, that’s another thing I need to tell you.” I explained James’s situation and that I’d invited him home. “Also, Gabriella will be coming with me as well. She’s a lot of help with the boys.”
“Goodness, Fiona,” Mama said. “You really know how to gather in the stray cats.”
“Yes, I suppose I do.” I flushed with embarrassment. It was all true, but I had to remain resolute. I’d made promises and had to keep them.
“It’s interesting that Li came all the way here when he said he wanted to stay and look after his grandmother.” Papa turned to Mama. “Do you find that interesting?”
“I do.” They exchanged a smile. “Fiona, it’s time to tell us the truth. What are your feelings for Li?”
A feeling of dread engulfed me. Someone had told them. One of my rat siblings. Which one? Probably Josephine, out of a sense of worry. “What do you know and who told you?”
The front door burst open and the twins tumbled in, with Li right behind them. They all stopped and stared at the sight of my parents sitting and having tea. Here we go, I thought.
The boys,bless them, couldn’t have looked more adorable. Although they both had hardly any hair, their big eyes made up for it.
They stared at my mother and father for a moment, then as if they were of one mind, each slipped a hand into Li’s.
“Darlings, look what’s happened. My mama and papa are here.”
“They don’t speak much English yet,” I said. “And my French is terrible, but Li speaks enough that we make do.”
Mama had stood by then and come nearer, wary, knowing what it was to be a stray herself, and knelt near them. “Bonjour.”
“Bonjour,” the boys said in tandem.
Li explained to them that my parents had come and they were to use their best English to answer questions.
But it seemed the conversation between a former teacher and two boys was simpler than the division of the Atlantic Ocean and two complicated languages. Soon, all three were sitting on the love seat in the corner of the living room, the boys showing Mama their books and speaking to her in French with a little English thrown in every sentence or so.
I had a bit of a moment then, a flashback of one of my earliest memories, sitting next to Mama on the sofa, with Cymbeline on the other side. She’d read to us from one of our favorite books, The Five Little Peppers. They’d been like us, I remembered thinking. Five little Barneses.
I sat next to Papa on the couch. He put his arm around me. “Tell me, love, what other trouble have you gotten yourself into since I saw you last?”
I laid my head against his shoulder and sighed. Everything would be all right. Papa and Mama were here, and they still loved me. I caught Li watching me. We exchanged a stiff smile. When would we have the chance to talk? Not anytime soon.